Tips to keep your heating bill down

WASHINGTON – Last year’s mild winter is history, as it looks like it’ll be a pretty normal and cold winter this year. And that could cost you.

Your bill could be 20 percent higher if you heat your home with oil, 15 percent higher if you use natural gas, 13 percent higher if you use propane and 5 percent higher if you use electricity, according to the annual Winter Fuels Outlook from the Energy Department’s Energy Information Administration.

Priscilla Knight, spokeswoman for the Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative, says there are simple inexpensive things you can do now to keep costs down. They include caulking around windows or adding weatherstripping around doors.

“You can lose about 35 percent of your heating through leaks in your home,” says Knight.

Here is a list of other inexpensive things NOVEC recommends to keep your heating costs down: